


Oliver Is, In Fact, a Hugger

by ImpossibleSH



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DCU, Green Arrow - All Media Types, The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, i didn't mean to but that's what happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 09:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8619271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpossibleSH/pseuds/ImpossibleSH
Summary: Barry is not stupid, he knows there's a reason Oliver won't hug him. And Oliver knows Barry is not stupid. Now, not only that they have to deal with their usual business as superheroes, they also have to deal with each other. And with Oliver's trust issues.(I swear to god, this guy has to get over himself.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> All the emotions may seem sort of silly and angsty and unesseccary, but it's just because these episodes aired a really long time ago... I swear that if you watch again the 2015 crossover and also ep 15 of both shows it will all make a lot more sense.

Oliver walked down Main Street, Central City. Or at least that’s what he assumed this street is called, since apparently every significant place happened to be there- CCPD, for example. He patted his jacket’s inner pocket, making sure the plastic bag with the hair was still in there.  
Oliver stepped in the CCPD building and climbed the stairs two at a time. The familiarity of hurrying towards this one room in the whole building, the only one Oliver’s ever been to (but have been to too many times), had an oddness to it, but also warmth. He could find his way there in his sleep.  
He stopped at the doorway to the forensics lab. He knew he’d find Barry there, because he disappeared a couple of hours before. Oliver assumed he’d be running some tests for the gauntlets. Instead, Barry was gazing at the Central City skyline, his tall figure leaning against the window. The secret to Oliver’s perfect timing was waiting for the right moment to enter the room. He wasn’t sure it was the right moment, but he didn’t have a lot of time, so he entered anyway. “I don’t know why you’re actually here, but that’s fine”.  
Barry turned around in surprise. “I was- you know- forensics- and,” he mumbled awkwardly. “Last night I had some- well- you know- and Cisco- and, I mean-“  
“I kind of need a favor from you.”  
Barry raised his eyebrows in question.  
“And yeah, I know it’s not the best timing, but it’s pretty important and you sort of owe me for, you know, protecting Kendra’s life and whatever.”  
The speedster rolled his eyes. “Okay, shoo-“  
“I need you to run a DNA test on those.” Oliver blurted immediately, and handed Barry the plastic bag with the single hair and a small tube with a couple of inches of blood in it. Barry took them cautiously out of Oliver’s hands and scanned the latter’s expression for any clues.  
“Sure, no problem…” he said. “It’ll be a while, but you can stay here in the meantime.”  
Oliver sat down on Barry’s chair and breathed out the air he appeared to be holding in this whole time. What was he doing? He just asked Barry to run a fatherhood test for him, without flinching an eye. It wasn’t his head that told him to do so. It was his gut. It was his heart. Did he actually trust Barry that much? That much better than other people? After all, that annoyingly cheerful, obnoxiously hopeful guy saved his life from sudden death… what? Three, four times now?  
“Obviously you don’t have to tell me,” Barry’s voice ended his train of thought. “But Ollie, you know you can always tell me anything, right?”  
“Thanks.”  
Ollie. It stung every time someone called him that, but especially when Barry did it. Who even gave him the authority to do so? Didn’t he know that the only people who called him that were Laurel, and… and…  
“Right, the computer’s running the test so it’s a matter of minutes now,” Barry reported and walked over to Oliver. “Hey, you okay?” he added, putting one hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I know we’re gonna get Savage. I’m like, 89% sure. 82%. Like 70%. It’s gonna be fine, Ollie.”  
The Star City vigilante frowned. “Good. I’m glad you’re confident about it now.”  
“Yeah, you know, it comes and goes. I think that kid yesterday at Jitters made me reconsider, you know? I bet he’d be absolutely ecstatic if he knew the Green Arrow helped him find his Flash.”  
Yep. Never want to lose that guy. That’s what Oliver said yesterday. Did he just stopped controlling his actions anymore?

* * *

“Well you did it Barry. Everyone’s alive. Our Guardian Angel.”  
“That’s what you told me I could be when I told you about my powers.”  
“Meant it then, and I know it know.”  
Oliver didn’t turn his head, but he could hear Barry smiling at the comment. He felt so proud, like the whole idea of The Flash was his making. He made a lot of mistakes that led people in his life to make the wrong choices, but let’s face it… Arsenal, Speedy, the Canary sisters, and most recently the Hawk people, he had the pleasure of watching them all becoming who they are now. And Barry, well… Oliver knew he was a hero way before he was struck by that lightning. He did save him using rat poison.  
“Hey Oliver, we need to have a difficult conversation, I think.”  
“About my son?” Oliver shivered. “God, it feels weird to say that.”  
Barry glanced at Oliver, concerned. “Less about your son, more about whether you’re going to tell them all about him?”  
“I don’t think it’s any of your business.”  
“Yeah, you’re right, it’s not _really_ my business…” Barry sighed. “Except, I told you, when I mess with time, time messes back, and we’ve already changed how things turned out with Savage, and I’m worried about temporal backlash, and also…” Barry stopped on his spot and looked at Oliver. “I am the only one you trusted with this information, Ollie. I don’t know why me, really, but I appreciate you being so honest with me. You said me seeking your help showed real maturity, and now you’ve proved you’re still way ahead of the game than I am.”  
The archer blinked. As Barry was saying these words, he realized the reason for this unconditional trusting relationship he created between the two of them. His subconscious, treasuring all the moments and emotions he insisted on repressing, was guiding him. His subconscious was warning him. He knew what happened when he kept secrets, big secrets, from his dearest ones. An image of Tommy, the one person closest to him in the whole world, soul-shattered, heartbroken, calling him a murderer and a liar flickered through his mind.  
Instead of saying all that, he said, “You were right when you said that the rules keep changing, and the lives that we lead, they make us feel…” he paused to remember what Barry said, quoting him perfectly. “Powerless. It makes me wonder if William wouldn’t be better off with my world kept separate from his.”  
“Look, Oliver, take it from someone who didn’t get to grow up with his father, I think the best thing for William is for you to be a part of his life.”  
It was that moment that Oliver knew he chose the right person. Meaning, the right person to consult, of course.  
“And,” Barry continued. “It’s not just because William would need a father in his life. He would need _his_ father, Oliver. I’m saying this because I know you, the real you. He would need Oliver Queen in his life. Much more useful for him than either the Flash, or the Green Arrow.  
Oliver couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Barry.”  
“Sure.” Barry leaned in for a hug, making his friend jump back in surprise.  
Oliver laughed. “I’m not really a hugger, Barry.”  
“Tell me something I don’t know.” The speedster smiled, but something in his eyes told Oliver he might have squinted at him with disbelief and doubt and… disappointment? For just a millisecond. “But the thing is, I am fast enough to hug you without you knowing, so…”  
It seemed like there was no other choice, so Oliver consented to the hug, though he made sure to break it as soon as he could.  
“Wasn’t so bad, right?” He heard Barry behind him as he walked away.  
They were both smiling and laughing, but it felt like there was too much understatements in that conversation.  
As he paced towards Samantha’s house, he could still feel electricity spreading from his chest to his fingers, and couldn’t tell if it was because of the Flash… or because of Barry.

***

The laptop screen flickered a blurred image until it dimmed down to dark. Oliver stared at an unknown point in the other side of the room, then blinked the tears out of his eyes and closed the computer. A red streak of light came rushing through the doors.  
“How much of that did you hear?” he inquired, not moving his glance.  
“Enough.”  
Silence.  
“What are you doing here, Barry?”  
The speedster paced around the room without purpose. “That’s a good question, Oliver.” He breathed in, the air trembling in his chest, and then out. “I’m not sure, really.”  
He went to where Oliver was sitting and set across the table from him. Oliver made an effort to raise his eye and observe his friend’s face, and found a mixture of emotions he could only find in Barry’s eyes. Somehow Barry was the last one, but also the only person he wanted to see at the moment.  
Barry opened his mouth then closed it, as if thinking hard about what he wanted to say. “I… I left Central to come here because I needed someone to console with. With you, actually. I arrived here feeling a lot different, but… now I think we’ll do that later.” He studied Oliver’s expression, who now refused the raise his glance from the unknown spot on the floor that happened to fascinate him. “How are you doing?”  
The latter chuckled silently, wearing a frown on his face. “How do you think I’m d-“. He sighed, then continued with an emptiness in his voice. “I mean, you know now, I guess. I made my choice about William. It’s not what you actually advised me to do, but after recent events… It was probably for the best.”  
He waited for a reply from Barry but it didn’t came. Even though Oliver, at this exact moment, felt the worse he has been in a long time, it was clear that Barry was in a pretty crappy mood as well. “Wanna tell me what’s going on with you? Elaborate on what you said before?”  
Barry licked his lips before starting to speak. “When I left Central I needed consolation. From you. This past week… wasn’t the best. I lost a friend. I fought a gigantic shark. All because of Zoom… because of me. I didn’t know how to deal with the fact that everything’s my fault.  
“But when I arrived here, all I was was… angry with you.”  
“With me?” he replied, his voice still hollow. “Please, do tell me why.”  
Barry’s face heated up slightly. “Oh, for a whole bunch of reasons. First of all, Oliver, I’ll have to admit you had to deal with more than I did this past week. You were in Central City! You were seeking help, and went to Marie? Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”  
Oliver didn’t feel empty that much anymore, the other one’s anger was getting infectious. “You had a lot on your plate, you just said so yourself.”  
“You bet I did, but so did you. And I wouldn’t have known anything about all that if you wouldn’t have sent Digg to help.”  
“Why are you mad about that?”  
“Couldn’t you speak to me yourself? Pick the fucking phone and make a call? Oliver, I was worried about your son at least the same as everyone else… and actually, it’s my concern more than theirs.”  
“Is it really?” the archer bit his lips with fury. This started to get on his nerves.  
“It is! It is. I knew about his existence while they didn’t. If you just asked me to, I…” Barry wrinkled his eyebrows in frustration. “I could’ve kept an eye on him. I could’ve prevented this whole thing from happening. I… I could’ve helped.”  
Oliver sighed. He knew exactly what this was about now. “Oh my god, Barry. This wasn’t your concern, it was mine. This wasn’t your fault. It was mine. Nothing is your fault, but especially this isn’t.” The air was tense, as if Barry still wasn’t content, at all. “Is there anything else you’re mad at me about?”  
“There is, actually. It’s that you were, and still are, full of bullshit.”  
Oliver rolled his eyes and shook his head. He was so done with this conversation. “No kidding. And why is that?”  
Barry waited a few seconds before saying what was on his mind. “Because the problem definitely wasn’t that you’re not a hugger.” He said quietly.  
Oliver slowly leaned his face on his hand, covering his mouth, gaze still at the floor. He waited for Barry to continue with his theory, though he dreaded to hear it. It sounded like Barry intended on speaking the truth Oliver himself wasn’t intending on ever saying out loud.  
Barry swallowed quickly before he continued. “That hug… wasn’t just a hug, was it? It’s not that you’re not a hugger, but because you are, I know you. It’s that you were scared. The hug was a proof.”  
“What did it prove?” Oliver asked quietly, hollow again.  
Barry shrugged. “It proved that… you succeeded, for the first time. To not mess things up. To get over your trust issues.”  
The Star City vigilante found himself staring blurrily at Barry’s face, avoiding his eyes. He managed to see the guy, the friend, the hero in front of him closing his eyes shut for a long moment, considering the wording that comes next.  
“It wasn’t just that you trusted me with the discovery of your son. I trusted you with the secret of me time-jumping. You know that I should never talk about that because it’s me messing with the universe but I trusted you to make the right decision about this. I always do.  
“Anyway, in the other timeline… you… you sacrificed yourself, Ollie. For everybody. I was the only one who stayed alive. It’s thanks to you that any of us, that _I_ am here today.”  
Oliver closed his eyes. “What’s your point, Barry?”  
“My point is that you were afraid, because you realized you were showing affection and won someone’s trust, and were afraid to repeat history, like with… with Tommy.”  
A shiver went through Oliver’s spine and he felt his eyes welling up. He could tell Barry was alarmed by that because his muscles tensed at the sight of Oliver’s reaction to his words.  
“Ollie, you have to stop distancing yourself from what’s going on here, to stop… denying. You don’t need me to spell it out for you, do you?”  
“Give it a shot.” He whispered.  
“Aright, fine. So you basically sacrificed yourself so I could live. You trusted me when you didn’t trust anyone else. You were seeking my help. You made an effort to help me, too, training me and guiding me when no one else could. You could say that it’s because I’m a “colleague”, but you have other colleagues, most of them I don’t even know about. You could say that it’s because I saved your life, and to be honest, I did, like four times, so you definitely owe me for that.  
“But you’re issue with me isn’t because of something that happened on the island! It’s because… listen,” Barry finally slowed down a bit and loosened his muscles. “I know how much you loved Tommy. I know that you never got over not just his death, but over what you had together. You were happy. But denying that you feel something again won’t make it go away. You’ll just sulk like you do better than anyone else.”  
Oliver finally focused his gaze, finding nothing but concern and affection in Barry’s eyes.  
Barry frowned. “I know I said that I feel powerless. That the lives we lead are messed up. But Ollie, you are the only one who knows how to deal with… anything, really. You just need to be honest. With everyone else… and with yourself. I know there are words you’d never say, but,” He stood up from his chair. “If it’s any good, I-“  
“Barr, wait.” The words were just a decibel too loud in the quiet room, and Oliver grabbed Barry by the wrist of his hand just a bit too tight. It only slightly felt like he was threatening to do something, like he was more Green Arrow than Oliver Queen. “Stay. Let me say something.”  
In response Barry only rubbed his forehead with his free right hand, as if starting to realize he made a mistake, because as usual, he just can’t stop talking until someone forces him to.  
“I know that I make mistakes. I used to think I never made them, and now I think I can’t not make them. Like everything I do is wrong. Everything is my fault. I’m afraid this is probably the worst thing that you learned from me.” He paused to breath, without noticing moving his fingers from wrapping Barry’s wrist to grasping his palm. He looked up at Barry, who looked so tall, and mature, and tired from this angle. He only now noticed Barry’s hair was all messy and his jacket was slightly burned at the collar, because he ran all the way here without his suit, and one side of his lips was, just slightly, turning upwards, as if he still had some hope in what Oliver was about to say. “I guess you know more than I wish you did, but you were right. Tommy… he was…” Oliver swallowed before he continued, making sure his eyes won’t start welling up again. He focused his gaze on their hands, Barry’s fingers holding his tightly. “He was the only one for me. He died in front of my eyes, thinking I was a murderer. Without any trace of trust in me, in what we used to be. It was my fault that he died. I couldn’t protect him, and I lied to him.”  
Oliver felt Barry staring at him softly, and looked back up. “I am a mess, Barr. I am not someone you want to be around. I will probably hurt anyone who’s near me. And Barry, you… you are way too special. You know exactly what to say, you do your best to not let anything get you down, and you won’t ever give up. Even on me. You saved my life in more ways than one. Putting you in the danger of being close to me… I can’t let it happen. Not again.”  
Now Barry was the one with the tears in his eyes. For once in his life, he decided not to say a word. Instead, he bended over, held Oliver’s face with his right hand and pressed his lips onto Oliver’s. The kiss was gentle, and warm, and full of affection, and just like the hug, it was something more. It was a promise.  
Breaking the kiss, Barry looked deeply into Oliver’s eyes and said, “I am _never_ leaving you, Ollie. You are special.”  
And then he flashed out of the room, leaving Oliver with his eyes still closed, and his palm still laying on the table, grasping air, waiting.  
 

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for months, so I'm just happy I finally got around to writing this story. It's pretty much inspired by two posts listed below, these really do help paint the whole picture :)  
> http://protect-barry-allen-at-all-costs.tumblr.com/post/134884810325/the-olivarry-hug  
> http://merlynqueensgambit.tumblr.com/post/134476337082/the-moment-olivers-bullshit-surpassed-malcolms


End file.
